The Ass and the Mule

A certain man who had an Ass and a Mule loaded them both up one
day and set out upon a journey. So long as the road was fairly
level, the Ass got on very well: but by and by they came to a place
among the hills where the road was very rough and steep, and the
Ass was at his last gasp. So he begged the Mule to relieve him of a
part of his load: but the Mule refused. At last, from sheer
weariness, the Ass stumbled and fell down a steep place and was
killed. The driver was in despair, but he did the best he could: he
added the Ass's load to the Mule's, and he also flayed the Ass and
put his skin on the top of the double load. The Mule could only
just manage the extra weight, and, as he staggered painfully along,
he said to himself, "I have only got what I deserved: if I had been
willing to help the Ass at first, I should not now be carrying his
load and his skin into the bargain."